Bread Baking Babes get hot - with Naan Recipe
Or, at least, that was the intent.
Our first bread of 2010 is Naan, brought to us by Lynn, of Cookie Baker Lynn fame. Visit her blog for the two authentic Naan recipes plus details on how to be a Bread Baking Babe Buddy.
And be sure to check out the other Babe's blog's (listed below) for more authentic Indian cuisine and, most likely, much prettier Naan.
Now: the disclaimer.
I don't eat hot, spicy food.
I have a bizarre allergy, officially called Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis. If I exercise, even a walk, after I eat,
I can get an allergic reaction that varies from mild hives to
life-threatening anaphylactic shock - no pulse, no blood pressure. I've
made some great exits from dinner dances before I figured out how to
(usually) control it. I've woken up in hospital with a priest standing over me twice - which is exacly two time too many. (the hospital part, not the waking up part).
It almost always happened after eating something a bit spicy - almost, not always. I was tested and tested and tested.
But the reason I don't eat spicy food is this: The most severe attacks I've had always begin with my mouth tingling. Eating spicy food makes my mouth tingle.
No matter how hard I try eat it or how determined I am that it's not going to affect me or how much I am actually enjoying it in the beginning, the second my mouth starts to tingle some primitive instinct kicks in and I have to stop.
I know - all psychological.
I know - get over it.
I've tried. I've failed. I've accepted this flaw.
And I made a lovely Morroccan stew to go with this gorgeous Naan.
Multicultural diversity!
There are 2 versions of this Naan: curried and plain. I made the plain.
Here is the official recipe - with my notes in italics:
- Plain Naan
- - makes 3 naan I made 6, should have made 8
- scant 4 cups white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1-1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 oz / 15 g. package compressed fresh yeast*
- water to mix I used 1 cup
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- olive oil for frying
- 1-
- Line a baking sheet. Put the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl and add
- enough water to make a soft, but not sloppy dough. Add the seeds, then
- divide the dough into three pieces and put on the baking sheet. Let
rest for 1 hour. I used my stand mixer for 3 minutes, it made a very soft dough. Then I kneaded by hand for 3 more minutes.
2- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured
counter and, using a rolling pin, flatten each piece into a circle, 10
inches / 25.5 cm in diameter, and let rest for 5 minutes. It was too sicky to get off my butcherblock after rolling, so I rolled it out on parchmment paper, let the top dry a few minutes, then peeled it off. the 10" immediately contracted to 8".
3-
Heat a skillet to a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil.
Shallow-fry each naan until browned on both sides, then set aside to
cool slightly before serving. I used medium high heat. I started with medium and they were okay, but on medium-high they quickly puffed up and were much lighter in texture when done.
I served it with a Morroccan stew of chicken, carrots, peppers, sweet potatoes. almonds and olives, spiced (lightly) with paprika, cumin and caraway
The next day I smeared the leftover naan with goat cheese and had it for lunch with some sardines.
Don't turn your nose up - it was good.
My only warning would be not to make them too far ahead. It's so tempting to just nibble a bit on the edges while they're hot that they quickly disappear.
Check out the other Babe's Brioche:
The Bread Baking Babes
Bake My Day - Karen
Canela and Comino - Gretchen
Cookie Baker Lynn - Lynn
Grain Doe - Gorel
I Like To Cook - Sara
Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya
Living on bread and water - Monique
Lucullian Delights - Ilva
My Kitchen In Half Cups - Tanna
Notitie Van Lien - Lien
The Sour Dough - Breadchick Mary
Thanks, Lynn for a great recipe - I'm thinking maybe with dill and parsely in summer with salads....